Down here in southwest Florida, you take your life in your hands just walking through the parking lot into Costco’s. Just yesterday, BH & I were almost run down by a driver backing out of his parking spot. Drunk? No. Juvenile delinquent? No. Old and oblivious? Yes!
Sad to say, it’s a common headline here. A week ago around midnight, a 91 year old man driving southbound in the northbound land of Interstate 75 crashed head on into a Ford Explorer. Both drivers died. Stop and think about it. Why is a 91 year old out on the highway at that hour? I can’t even think about driving at night anymore. Even my 43 year old daughter swears she won’t drive at night. This area closes up shop very early. Was he hanging out at the after hours clubs? Running away from home? I know. Totally disrespectful, but…..it makes you wonder about these things.
In February after church, a 79 year old woman backing up a 7000 pound Tahoe mistook the brake pedal for the gas pedal and mowed down seven people, killing three of them. She ended up in a river unhurt. Her license was suspended for a year and she paid a $1000 fine. In 2011, she did the same thing in Michigan plowing into a lobby of a McDonald’s. Nothing happened…no fine….no suspended license…no adjudication at all!
But, doesn’t every family have its own share of driving horror stories? My great grandmother, Lizzie, drove her Model T into her 80s until she had a fatal collision. Her son, John, my grandfather, was a notoriously bad driver. He smoked nonstop, fiddling constantly with his CB radio. He was one of those rev up, hit the brakes kind of driver, putting the fear of God into his passengers, fellow drivers and even pedestrians.
John used to race the six miles down Orange Avenue from Pine Castle to his job in Orlando. One of my mother’s high school friends, who later became my uncle, had no car back in the 40s, so he would walk the six miles along the same route. He was so terrified of getting in the car with my grandfather, he would hide behind bushes if he saw him coming.
My own father wasn’t all that great either. He didn’t believe in driving the speed limit. He drove slower and even slower as age set in. The scariest thing he did was fall asleep at the wheel. My mom wouldn’t dream of taking a nap or reading a book. Her job was to keep him awake! Even worse was the time in his mid-60s when he had a heart attack while driving to work. For weeks, it was touch and go but he lived to tell the tale and continued driving!! Then, they moved to the mountains which made him dizzy and nauseous. I think my mom put the kibosh on his driving about a year before he passed at age 90.
My brother hates driving. I don’t even think about asking him to drive to see me in Maryland or Florida. He lives in North Carolina as does my mother. I think he’s driven to her house once in the past 10 years.
Then, there’s my mom. She is a trooper. She’s turning 89 this year, still toodling around in her little blue 2004 PT Cruiser. Actually, she’s always been a good driver and for years thought nothing of driving long distances. I got those genes! Last October, she had to get her license renewed but couldn’t pass the eye exam. She was in shock! She’s always had the best eyesight in the family! Never needed even reading glasses! I did not get those genes.
Come to find out she had cataracts and had to have them removed. My mother is not enamored with doctors. She claims she’s never had an ache in her life. What does she need a doctor for? Surgery on her eyes? If I was a betting woman, I would’ve bet she’d never get those cataracts removed. But, she did. Just so she could pass that driver’s test! And, amazingly, her eyesight is perfect again.
For years, I’ve traveled up and down the east coast never giving it a second thought. Just put on an audio book or Sirius XM and I’m good to go for hours. Generally, I don’t get tired. I just rest or fuel up on coffee. Last year, I was fretting over the Florida driver’s test….mainly, the vision part. But, I passed so I’m on the road for another few years.
One day, the party will be over for me, too. But, I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. Meanwhile, I’ll be wearing a suit of armor crossing the parking lot!
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